So with the HvZ:Athens Invitational this Friday and Saturday, almost all of my time has been devoted to that so I have sadly not been able to watch a movie or play a game to review for the site. So with that in mind, it is time for a Top 10 List and what could be a better topic than Pokemon? Like I said when I made my list of the Top 25 Greatest Pokemon of All Time, the mere concept of Pokemon is perfect for anyone to create a list. You have your greatest Pokemon obviously, but you also have your weirdest Pokemon, most controversial Pokemon, strongest Pokemon, coolest Pokemon, and the list goes on. I was thinking to myself, what list should I make this time? I could do one of these lists, but that would just be doing what everyone else does with a few changes here and there. But then I thought… You know what’s a list I haven’t seen a lot of? A list of the Pokemon that we pushed to the side. Considering that there are over 700 Pokemon out there, it is needless to say that a few of these Pokemon just would not stick out from the crowd. With so many cool Pokemon or at least memorable Pokemon out there, some are bound to fade into a little bit of obscurity. But not anymore! I am going to make a list dedicated to the Pokemon that never got their chance in the spot light. This is the Top Ten Pokemon Everyone Forgets About!

Before we get into this list, I do want to remind everyone that this is my personal opinion based on observations made by me on the Pokemon community at large. If you have a difference of opinion, wonderful you have an opinion. Please share them, comment on this page, email me, or make your own list. I would love to debate/read your opinion. But this is mine. Also this list will include a Pokemon’s evolution set as one entry on the list. This is due to the fact that the Pokemon and its evolutionary forms can be to blame for its obscurity. I will say when this is otherwise the case. With that being said, let’s list a few honorable mentions.

You will find a consistent pattern on this list that the Pokemon on it are either on here for being boring, unimaginative, or completely overshadowed by their much more popular counterpart. This is the case for the evolutionary set that includes Weedle, Kakuna, and Beedrill. For those who remember the original Indigo League series, they will remember very well that Ash Ketchum’s first Pokemon was a tiny Caterpie that later evolves into a Metapod and later into a Butterfree. While Butterfree may not be particularly strong, it still hits a cord with many fans who get all nostalgic when seeing the over-sized butterfly and its adorable little eyes.

… Then you have this terrifying son of a bitch. Beedrill is like Butterfree’s mean spirited cousin. They follow a very similar evolutionary line, start out as caterpillars, then they get their cocoon stage, and then instead of turning into a pretty butterfly, Beedrill turns into the image that everyone who is terrified of bees thinks of when they spot one in a room. While it was a menace in the original series, Beedrill hasn’t been seen or even talked about much since that time as it has been overshadowed by other bug type Pokemon and when its counterpart beats the piss out of it hands down in the adorable department, you have little choice but to disappear into the forgotten realms of Pokemon.

9: Meowstic

This is one Pokemon that will not be judged by its evolutionary set because the reason it makes this list is completely due to its early form. For anyone who is an average fan of the series knows of the pure nightmare fuel that is Espurr and its cold dead stare as it pierces its way into your soul and sucks out all the happiness of the world. Seriously, this thing is arguably one of the most physically horrifying Pokemon out there due to the fact that its eyes just go on forever. Dead, lifeless, and ever vigilant are just a few words that can be used to describe Espurr.

It became such a popular internet sensation that I believe many people forgot that this thing does actually evolve. It evolves into Meowstic which has a male and female form. The sad thing is when Espurr evolves into Meowstic, somewhere along the way it gained a soul and thus lost its dead stare and as such is lost on most of the community. One of the few times that actually having a soul has been a detriment instead of a perk.

8: Skarmory

I remember when Gold and Silver came out and it added to the mix Dark and Steel type Pokemon, I was excited to see these new Pokemon types in action. One of these types; dark, would go on to become my favorite type and also be the type that includes my favorite Pokemon, Umbreon. But out of the steel group, one of the ones that popped into my mind was the cool steel bird Skarmory.

I remembered facing this thing in my game and it being a pain in the ass… As most steel type Pokemon tend to be. The things are fucking armor-plated Poketanks. But as the years have gone on, I have noticed that this once cool steel/flying Pokemon has slipped into obscurity. With much cooler alternatives like Lucario, Metagross, Aegislash, and Mawile in the mix, it is easy to see how this guy can fall by the wayside. He was a cool concept… But a metallic vulture just isn’t as cool as a ghost sword or a fighting steel anthropomorphic dog with floppy ears.

7: Porygon

Now hold on a second! I know some of you are crying foul and I understand it. Porygon is a pretty popular well-known Pokemon all things considered. But just hear me out here. Yes! Porygon is pretty memorable, yes Porygon was one hell of a Pokemon to acquire in the original games. BUT Porygon is the Pokemon that Game Freak has been trying to distance itself from for a long time.

The Pokemon Seizure Story of hundreds of Japanese kids being hospitalized after watching an episode of Pokemon is pretty common stuff, hell it is the stuff of legend all things considered. Just as I’m sure you are aware that Porygon was the unfortunate culprit that would go down in infamy as the Pokemon to cause all of these seizure. After this… Yeah Porygon’s appearances have been ‘sparse’ to say the least.

Sure it got a few evolutions here and there, but when it comes to the anime the only time that it has appeared past that moment was randomly in a back alley or used as a filler when a lot of Pokemon need to present. Even in the games, Porygon is very rare, pretty damn useless, and is seen more as a Pokemon to claim merely to complete the Pokedex more than a viable competitor or someone you would even want to have on your team. Porygon may go down in infamy, but it is because of this that the people behind Pokemon want to bury this thing deep and make sure that it stays that way.

6: Maractus

This one is going to be short and sweet. I remember this thing vaguely while I was playing Pokemon Black as a Pokemon I ran into in the desert region (obviously). But past that I have no real recollection of this Pokemon or its impact on the community. This thing feels like filler in every sense of the world. A cactus Pokemon, congratulations, moving on.

5: Electrike/Manectric

Why isn’t Manectric more well known? Seriously this thing should be fucking cool. It is a Pokemon that looks like a dog, an ELECTRIC DOG. Sweet Jesus that is enough to propel it into the realms of hyper obsessed fandom. Look at Arcanine, Houndoom, Vulpix, Ninetales, the Eevee family, Lucario, or any other quadruped that has canine like features (exclusion Lucario on ‘quadruped’). This thing should top the list of favorite Pokemon for several fanboys and fangirls… And yet… It lives in obscurity. Which is all the more baffling to me. Is it because it looks like he is wearing some doofy helmet that makes Bidoof look more dignified? I’m not sure. He was given a mega evolution like many other Pokemon who were left by the wayside to give them somewhat of a push. But other then that, this is one of those Pokemon that is for whatever reason forgotten.

4: Rufflet/Braivery

Okay… When I made this list, I went through all 700+ Pokemon… And I at least knew of all of them… Except this one. I didn’t know that Braivery had an earlier evolution. I knew of the bird that looks like a bald eagle sure… But I always thought it was a Pokemon with out an evolution form. But no… This thing has an earlier evolutionary form called Rufflet. A Pokemon that I didn’t even know existed until I did this list. Plus, just to be sure I didn’t make a complete ass out of myself I did some research and this things Bulbapedia page is laughable. Other then the mandatory stats that fills each of these pages, its explanation is only a few sentences long. Seriously, this thing is 100% forgettable!

3: Girafarig

Does anyone remember this thing by anything other than the goofy ‘giraffe’ Pokemon? I don’t think so. Being cast into the ‘normal’ category of Pokemon is already a curse in and of itself. But to give it no other discernible traits other than it is a pretty colored giraffe that also has some psychic attacks and you have yourself a full-fledged dud. Other Pokemon have retroactively been given pre evolutions, evolutions, mega evolutions, or hell even changed their type to Fairy. But nope, not Girafarig. This thing is mundane and has only appeared sparsely from its original run. Boring, boring, boring!

2: Raikou

This one is the one on the list that probably annoys me the most. It is hard to put a legendary anything on this list considering that they get the screen time that they get for merely existing… But man, Raikou got the shaft on his deal. For whatever reason, Suicune is given major screen time and massive plot points in the anime and in the game. Entei even gets a movie dedicated around it… Raikou… Raikou gets a few episodes where he shows up and that is it!

Jesus if I were Raikou I’d be calling my agent saying ‘What the fuck man?! I’m a damn legendary and this is the best that I can get?!’ Out of all the legendaries, Raikou is the one that has and continues to get the shaft on just about every turn and I for one will at least toss him a bone.

1: Pinsir

Oh Pinsir, you poor poor son of a bitch. Any time I talk to someone about the original 151 Pokemon and I ask them to list them all, every single person I talked to (myself included) has gotten tripped up by Pinsir. This poor thing has been in obscurity hell longer than any of the others on this list, not helped by the fact that it is an ugly-looking, somewhat terrifying bug. But also one that has no real personality outside of it existing.

Being one of the original Pokemon that never received an evolution or pre-evolution is hard. When your much cooler Scythers, Magmars, Electabuzzes, Onixs, and even fucking Lickitung get something cool and you are left to rot, only to appear sparsely in the games and almost non-existent in the anime series is a pretty rough existence. Kind of like being the kid who watches all his friends go off to college and yet he is stuck in his small town to rot while working at the local Wal-Mart. Granted, Pinsir was eventually given a mega evolution… But honestly out of all the mega evolutions, Pinsir is the least interesting aesthetically out of the bunch and I have never once heard a person who plays X and Y struggling to get a hold of some Pinsirite in order to complete their mega evolution set. Poor Pinsir is always destined to ride in the wave of obscurity.

So concludes the list of the Top Ten Pokemon That Everyone Forgets About. Please if you enjoyed this list then like and subscribe for more from me and also you should attend the HvZ:Athens Invitational coming up this Friday and Saturday. It is going to be pretty awesome.